Lynch’s Castle Still Dominating Historic Galway

“Lynch's Castle was once the home to the most powerful family in Galway. This incredible limestone building is a fine example of an Irish gothic style.

The Lynch Family's Coat of Arms can still be seen today, as can other proprietors of the house Henry and the Fitzgerald's of Kildare.

Situated between Shop Street and Abbeygate Street, this castle gives us a rare glimpse of old Galway.

This majestic building stands as testimony to Galway's splendid medieval past.

Lynch's Castle was once the home to the most powerful family in Galway. This incredible limestone building is a fine example of an Irish gothic style. The Lynch Family's Coat of Arms can still be seen today, as can other proprietors of the house Henry and the Fitzgerald's of Kildare. Situated between Shop Street and Abbeygate Street, this castle gives us a rare glimpse of old Galway. This majestic building stands as testimony to Galway's splendid medieval past.

Lynch's Castle is the only complete secular medieval building left standing in Galway today. The Lynch's were an important family, who supplied the city with many Mayors. The Castle is four stories high, a large extension was added in 1808 and the building has been modified a number of times over the years. The exact date of its foundation is not known but a number of features point to a date at the end of the fifteenth century or the beginning of the sixteenth century. A framed panel at the front of the building shows the arms of King Henry VII, King of England from 1484 to 1509. At the side of the building there is a stone inserted containing the coat-of-arms of the Earl of Kildare who freed Galway from the de Burgos after the Battle of Knockdoe in 1504.

Other items of interest are decoratively carved windows, and finely carved gargoyles or water spouts that project outwards from the building. The Lynch coat-of-arms is to be found at the front of the building.

The Castle was acquired by Allied Irish Banks in 1930 and carefully restored to its former splendour. A fine carved doorway was added in 1933, the work of L. Cambell a Dublin Architect. You can visit the ground floor of the bank and view the history and architecture of the building, explained in great detail on a series of panels.

Lynch's Castle represents the old and the new. The modern world of banking operating in a historic building from the world of antiquity.”